Sound of a Wylder Silence by Marilyn Barr

Author:Marilyn Barr [Barr, Marilyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spirituality; Native American Hero; Shaman; American Historical Romance; Frontier Western Fiction; Prairie Romance; Western Romance;
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2022-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Heave, Ho! Heave, Ho! Sweat flows down my spine as I chip away at the frozen ground. I started with a shovel but quickly changed to a pickax to burrow into the January-hardened dirt. Phew! The hole I have made is not big enough for a grave, let alone a foundation for a cabin to rival Nartan and Olive’s.

A cabin was the beginning of their romance, and look how it turned out. Nartan’s sun rises and sets with her smile. Surprisingly, she is equally as smitten with my moody brother. A year and a half ago, on a sunny day in June, my brother started digging a hole for a cabin. He hadn’t met Olive but felt her spirit in the wind, or at least that’s how he described it to me.

Ava’s eyes shined with adoration akin to worship when I beckoned Olive’s she-bear to us. Telling her Ephraim-shifter secret is the most selfish thing I could do, so I allowed Ava to believe I am a mystic bear whisperer. If we ever meet a real bear, we could be mauled to pieces. It would serve me right for acting so foolish. If Nartan were here, he would tan my hide in my own braining fluid. I haven’t had the courage to face Olive since the incident. The right thing to do is to come clean to Ava with Nartan and Olive’s permission.

However, step one is to ask Ava to join our little tribal circle. As my wife, she would be under Nartan’s protection as our elected leader and entitled to knowing the magical secrets of my family. No city girl would accept the proposal of a man in a teepee, so I must build her a cabin. Our cabin will have two bedrooms though. She will need a quiet place to sleep when my nightmares claim me.

“Ikshu, what in tarnation are you doing?” I nearly jump out of my skin at my brother’s outburst. His condescending voice manifests from my musings. When will I ever learn that what you think produces what you see? He must have returned last night and already had his reunion with Olive to have time to torment me.

“Building a cabin. It is time I have a cabin of my own.”

“Soooo you are digging a foundation…”

“Yes”

“…in frozen ground…in the dead of winter…”

“It would go faster in the spring, but I would like to have it built by then.”

“Oh, Ikshu,” my brother sighs. He presses his fingers into his eyes to unsee my project. “I have neglected to give you guidance since Olive’s arrival to our family. I’m sorry.”

“I am finding my path, Nartan. I am the same age you were when we built the Sagebrush Homestead from the ground up. It is my turn build to a livelihood…and a family.”

“I know you are looking for ways to grow up, and I’m sorry about the feathers, the rings, our fights, and all of it. How about I help you this spring the way you helped me? We will build the cabin of your ladylove’s dreams.

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